Roe v Wade, The Epilogue
by alynwa
Summary: Part of my "Triple A" series, this occurs after the events of Roe v Wade, The Musical.


Denny and Alan had decided to have a sleepover in Denny's condo. After finishing their scotch and cigars, they had headed to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner and then on to Denny's pied – a – terre. Alan stayed so often he kept a small wardrobe there so stopping at his place was unnecessary.

They had put on their pajamas and plopped into bed. "Do you want to watch a movie, Denny?"

The older man grunted, "No, it's almost 10:30. I think I want to talk before we go to sleep."

Alan groaned inwardly. He had an idea what Denny wanted to talk about; he had mentioned during their balcony time that evening that he had impregnated his girlfriend while he was a college sophomore.* He wasn't one to share a lot of his life because so much of it had been unpleasant. He had finally, a year ago, told Denny about Adrienne and their son Adrian.** _And I might not have told him and Tara_ then _if Adrienne hadn't come to the offices to see me._ "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well," Denny said and stared at Alan, who stared back, refusing to say anything to make it easier for him. "Fine," he huffed, "You're going to make me say it. All right, I will: I want to know what Adrienne thought about you knocking someone else up. I know you told her."

Alan sat up and leaned against the headboard. "I _did_ tell her. The same day Stephanie told me she had been pregnant. Adrienne was a high school senior and already accepted to Northwestern University." He stared down at his hands like he had never seen them before as he began to reminisce about that day.

 _He had been dating Stephanie four months to the day when they met in the Student Union that afternoon. He remembered thinking that she seemed preoccupied as he paid for their coffees. It had been an unseasonably warm day and she suggested that they sit at an outside table that afforded them some privacy. She had said, "Alan, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it: You got me pregnant."_

 _He remembered the feeling of shock and the knot of fear that had formed in his stomach at her words. "You're pregnant?" he had managed to say. All he could think was, Why is this happening_ again? _But what he asked was, "What do you want to do about it?"_

 _Stephanie had begun to twirl her hair nervously. "I already took care of it," she exclaimed with false bravado, "I aborted last week. I wasn't going to tell you at all, but then I figured, well, maybe I should."_

 _He was beyond stunned. "Why didn't you tell me before," he began to shout, but caught himself. Dropping his voice, he leaned in and whispered fiercely, "Why didn't you tell me before you had the abortion?"_

" _Because it was my decision, not yours, that counted!" she retorted. "Even if you did want a baby, I don't! And I certainly didn't want my parents to know! The only people who know I got pregnant and had an abortion are you, me, my roommate and the_ _staff at the clinic I used. End of story."_

" _No, the_ true _end of this story is that you and I are through. I never want to speak to you, again," he snarled as he slammed his coffee down hard enough for it to splatter onto the table, stood and walked away._

He was jolted from his thoughts by Denny poking him in the arm. "So, are you going to tell me or what?"

"Sorry, Denny. I was just…woolgathering. I called Adrienne that evening and told her what Stephanie had said. I guess it hadn't hit me completely until I was on the phone with her because I started to cry these big, wracking sobs. I was so glad I had a phone in my dorm room and my roomie wasn't home! Anyway, Adrienne was trying to sooth me by telling me 'It's all right, Baby, let it out' over and over until I finally got to the point where I was just sniffling. She was quiet for awhile until I got my composure. Then she asked me if I had wanted the baby."

 _He had blurted out, "Yes! No! I don't know! I just…I just…wanted my feelings to be taken into consideration. I felt marginalized, like I was nothing!"_ He cleared his throat and decided to keep what he had said to himself. Aloud, he continued, "Denny, I _didn't_ want a baby with Stephanie. I wanted to have a say and I was denied. Adrienne understood. She said, 'You wanted to feel like your opinion mattered' and she was right. I did. Stephanie aborting the baby wasn't the wrong decision; it shouldn't have been a _unilateral_ decision and when she wouldn't concede that, I was done with her." He looked over at his bedmate when he heard chuckling. "I'm so glad my pain amuses you," he snarked.

The older man reached over and turned out the light. He slid down under the covers and held out his arms for Alan to come snuggle. "I'm not laughing at your story, Alan." He put his arms around his friend and squeezed lightly for a moment. "I was thinking of you and Adrienne. You two remind me of that song, you know, the one by the beauty queen who had nudie pictures published in Playboy? Vanessa something?"

"It wasn't Playboy, but I know who you mean. What song?"

"You know I'm bad with titles. Mad Cow, but it says something about snow in June and the sun and the moon. Whatever. My point is the song is about a man with a best friend who's a woman. He keeps hooking up with other women, but always comes back to her and tells her about his dreams and crap. You know it?"

Alan, as always when lying next to Denny, was fast falling asleep. He roused himself enough to answer, "Yes, I know it. Why?"

"Because you and Adrienne, you're going to wind up back together one day. I know about these things. You're saving the best for last. Just like the song says." He carded through Alan's hair tenderly. "I love you, you know."

"I love you, too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Alan." He doubted Alan even heard him. He patted the back of the sleeping younger man and whispered, "Listen to Denny, now. You're going to marry that girl one day." His only reply was Alan's gentle breathing.

*refers to Boston Legal Season Four episode "Roe v Wade. The Musical"

**refers to my story "Triple A"


End file.
